Toys and Games That Get Parents and Kids Playing Together

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As fun—and educational—as iPads can be, when it comes to parents playing learning games with their children (as opposed to kids playing by themselves and turning into zombies), there really isn’t an app for that. Until now. TigerFace Games has developed a number of learning apps that allow parents and children to either compete or collaborate. The TigerFace Games apps are just a few of the dozens of games that are part of the Fingerprint Network. We spoke with Nancy MacIntyre, Fingerprint’s CEO and co-founder. Having worked at Broderbund, LeapFrog,and Hasbro, Nancy knows a thing or two about games. “We’re trying to create experiences that parents and kids can do together,” she says.

We test-drove three Fingerprint apps, including two that are being released this week. We also previewed two more that are due out by the end of September. All are fun, engaging, entertaining, and challenging, and the graphics and animation are excellent.

Cosmic Reactor
Two players compete head-to-head in seven math-based games. One is a memory-match game, where players turn over “plates” that have equations, trying to find matching pairs (for example, 5×2 and 20-10). In another, a randomly-generated problem comes up (“pick the equation that gives 41”), and players have to find the right one from among a bunch of equation-sporting viruses that are floating around the screen. Customization is easy, so kindergarteners can do simple addition and subtraction, while older kids can multiply and divide larger numbers. (Ages 5-11; $2.99).

Quick Tap Spanish
In this two-person game, players race to match foreign-language words with their English equivalents. Quick Tap (which also comes in French, German, Portuguese, Mandarin, and others. Includes more than 100 word pairs in a variety of categories, such as animals, colors, food, and numbers. A fun way to brush up on the basics. (Ages: 5-11; $1.99)

The Flying Alphabetinis
If you like Scramble With Friends (by Zynga) or Boggle, you’ll love this game, where tiny acrobats with letters on their bellies pile on top of each other and create a jumble. Players find words forwards, backwards, up, down, and even zig-zagy. Flashcards with hints (like a picture of a boat) help early readers. (Ages 5-11; Free – $2.99).

Sushi Scramble (coming soon)
A friendly sushi chef puts letters on floating boats while hungry customers grab them as fast as they can. In the 2-person collaborative mode, players work together to complete assignments such as, “Make two words that start with T”. In competitive mode, up to four players make words using letters from the boats or snatched from another player’s tray..(Ages 7-11; $2.99)

Equator (coming soon)The earth is out of whack and the only way to set things right is to come up with two equations that produce equal results. Both players work together using game-generated numbers and floating arithmetic operators (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). As the game progresses, problems gradually become more challenging. (Ages 5-11; Free – $2.99)

When parents download any of the 40+ Fingerprint apps, they become part of the Network, which offers some nice features. Of course, basic parental controls keep kids from downloading more apps without permission. But there’s also the ability to set up individual profiles for everyone in the family and track each child’s progress. That way dad and mom will know whether there are specific areas the child needs to work on.

Right now, Fingerprint apps are available only on Apple devices. But Android versions will be out soon. As Nancy MacIntyre says, “We’ll do anything we can to keep kids and families playing together.” For more info, visit http://www.fingerprintplay.com

Long gone are the days when mom and dad had to lie sleepless wondering whether they heard a cry or whimper from baby’s room down the hall. Today’s parents have a variety of technology to keep an eye—and an ear on baby from the next room or even from the office across town. For this column, we reviewed several Internet-enabled monitors, most of which work on private WIFI networks so there’s no fear of broadcasting your lives around the neighborhood to parents with similar devices. None of these monitors are cheap, but you’ll be able to get your money’s worth by using them as security monitors or nannycams after your baby gets older.

Peek Plus Internet Baby Monitor System

The Peek Plus has all the features you want. You can carry the included video monitor on your belt and watch it all over the. Or you can access video on your phone or Internet while Grandpa and Grandma (up to three viewers) see the same thing on a password-protected network. The only drawback here is the required bridge unit (included) that connects to your Ethernet network to make the WiFi work. This means another set of wires to deal with, though the bridge unit can be kept away from the camera. http://www.summerinfant.com

Withings Smart Baby Monitor

A screenless monitor with a simple, clean design. The monitor itself looks like a white jewelry box that unfolds to reveal a simple 3MP lens. On the back, you’ll find just two plugs, Ethernet and mini-USB for recharging the battery. This is one of the few monitors that includes a bracket to attach the monitor on the side of a crib. It also plays lullabies and has a night light, two features that can both be controlled using the app from anywhere in the world. You can even take photos with the monitor with a 4X zoom and 90 degree pan that works with just a pinch or swipe of the finger. http://withings.com/en/babymonitor

Samsung SNH 1010 Smart Cam Monitor

This is the monitor of choice for the social media-connected. It will send a tweet or email when there’s movement or sound from the baby’s room. It will also post motion- or sound-activated video and stills directly to YouTube and Picasa so you can quickly share with friends and the world. It runs on AC power and connects to the Internet via Ethernet or wirelessly. Up to 10 users can access the camera at the same time and an unlimited number of cameras can be added to the network. The SmartCam has night vision and even includes small speakers for two-way talk. http://www.samsung.com/us

IZON 2.0 WIFI Video Monitor

We love the sleek look of the IZON, which has the look and feel of an Apple product and sets it apart from the rest of the crowd. This is a monitor for design lovers. It was easy to set up using a simple QR code that collects information on your local network. It was simple to use on our iPad and iPhone, and allows you to add multiple IZON cameras and view them at the same time. The IZON has motion and sound alerts, and can record up to 100 events for free to a designated cloud storage area. Sound and video are crisp, though not HD. However—and this is a big however—we can recommend the IZON only if your baby’s room always has a light on, since the monitor has neither LED nor infrared technology. http://steminnovation.com/